by Told By Lun

Digital Photography Tricks – Closing In On The Magic Of Macro!

Dive into the incredible world of macro photography, and with the aid of a few digital photography tricks you can take photographs of insects that will astound you. A normal housefly may be a pest, but once you get up close and personal, a macro image will reveal the millions of tiny dots that make up its eyes and every single hair on its body. You see an explosion of colour that you cannot with just the naked eye. Once you experience macro photography, you will never see nature’s insects in quite the same way again.

Macro photography works on ratios from 1:1 (where the image is true to size) up to ten times enlargement (10:1). The larger the ratio, generally, the more fascinating the final picture. To successfully capture macro images will require investment in appropriate equipment – a decent camera and specialised macro lens. I normally use a Canon EOS50D SLR camera and a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro lens. A vast range of lenses regularly come to market, so it is always a good idea to discuss options with your local stockist first.

Once you have spotted a bug you wish to capture, here are a few digital photography tricks to consider to ensure you don’t scare it off before you have had the opportunity to grab your winning shot: -

* Get up early – bugs are still cold then and don’t tend to fly off so regularly
* Don’t block out the sunlight on the insects
* Keep low – as low or even lower than your subject, if at all possible
* Locate yourself near a popular plant or flower. Bugs may see you as part of the scenery if you are already there
* Smaller bugs tend to take less notice of you than larger ones
* If a bug flies off, don’t panic. Give it a little time, and usually it will return.

A flashgun is also an essential piece of equipment – for example, if you are shooting in near-dark forests. This type of location will normally give you access to a range of interesting insects not found in your garden. You can use the flash in its normal position on top of the camera, but another idea is to use a flash extension cord. In this case, take a friend with you who can hold the flash to the side, or to provide imaginative backlighting. You will find that a flash will also help to enhance the sharpness of your shots.

These are just a few digital photography tricks that will benefit your macro photography. It can be a challenging area, and trial and error is expected. Initially you may find yourself disappointed with results, but once you get the hang of it you will be glad you persevered. It’s always a good idea to get some feedback, and a decent online photography course would give you guidance, as well as expert opinion on your work.

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by fensterbme

Digital Photography Tricks – Closing In On The Magic Of Macro!

Dive into the incredible world of macro photography, and with the aid of a few digital photography tricks you can take photographs of insects that will astound you. A normal housefly may be a pest, but once you get up close and personal, a macro image will reveal the millions of tiny dots that make up its eyes and every single hair on its body. You see an explosion of colour that you cannot with just the naked eye. Once you experience macro photography, you will never see nature’s insects in quite the same way again.

Macro photography works on ratios from 1:1 (where the image is true to size) up to ten times enlargement (10:1). The larger the ratio, generally, the more fascinating the final picture. To successfully capture macro images will require investment in appropriate equipment – a decent camera and specialised macro lens. I normally use a Canon EOS50D SLR camera and a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro lens. A vast range of lenses regularly come to market, so it is always a good idea to discuss options with your local stockist first.

Once you have spotted a bug you wish to capture, here are a few digital photography tricks to consider to ensure you don’t scare it off before you have had the opportunity to grab your winning shot: -

* Get up early – bugs are still cold then and don’t tend to fly off so regularly
* Don’t block out the sunlight on the insects
* Keep low – as low or even lower than your subject, if at all possible
* Locate yourself near a popular plant or flower. Bugs may see you as part of the scenery if you are already there
* Smaller bugs tend to take less notice of you than larger ones
* If a bug flies off, don’t panic. Give it a little time, and usually it will return.

A flashgun is also an essential piece of equipment – for example, if you are shooting in near-dark forests. This type of location will normally give you access to a range of interesting insects not found in your garden. You can use the flash in its normal position on top of the camera, but another idea is to use a flash extension cord. In this case, take a friend with you who can hold the flash to the side, or to provide imaginative backlighting. You will find that a flash will also help to enhance the sharpness of your shots.

These are just a few digital photography tricks that will benefit your macro photography. It can be a challenging area, and trial and error is expected. Initially you may find yourself disappointed with results, but once you get the hang of it you will be glad you persevered. It’s always a good idea to get some feedback, and a decent online photography course would give you guidance, as well as expert opinion on your work.

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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

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This is the lightest EF lens of all at a mere 4.6 oz. (130g). Compact and high-performance, standard lens. Its Gaussian optics provide sharp delineation from near to far focusing distances. The color balance is excellent for a standard lens.

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• 50mm standard lens with f/1.8 maximum aperture
• Traditional Gauss-type optical design is extremely sharp
• Focuses as close as 18 inches for extreme close-ups
• Ideal for natural-looking shots; excellent color balance
• Measures 2.7 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty

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Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Deep Red)

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infomatique posted a photo:

The Dublin Castle complex represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922. Highlights include the 13th-century record tower, the largest visible fragment of the original Norman castle and the State Apartments, once the residence of English viceroys and now the focal point for government ceremonial functions, including the inauguration of Ireland’s presidents.

View full post on Uploads from infomatique

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by DieselDemon

Photography Equipment – What’s in my camera bag?

This is a question that I’m asked often and it’s a hard one to answer. When I travel I tend to “travel light”, often only carrying one body and 2 lenses plus assorted other paraphernalia. When I have the luxury of travvelling by car or boat I tend to carry more, closer to what I have listed below. So, here’s my rant about what’s in my bag. Any comments?

To start with, I use Nikon cameras. I’m often asked why I use Nikon rather than Canon and the answer goes back about thirty years when I first started doing photography seriously. A friend had a Canon F1 with a motor drive and I had a few simple Nikon F’s, no meter, just the basic cameras. What struck me about the Canon was how heavy and bulky the package was. Now, this is nothing against Canon as the equivalent Nikon at the time was likely just as heavy and bulky. Being on a shoestring budget for many of my early years I acquired a large quantity of used Nikkor lenses and other miscellaneous camera system components.Years later Pentax came out with a fancy little professional camera, the Pentax LX. The lenses were good and sharp, everything was lighter than the equivalent Nikon equipment and I sold all of my beat up Nikon gear and temporarily switched to Pentax. While I thoroughly enjoyed using the Pentax equipment the set-up suffered from lack of development and the bodies had a tendency to have their shutters crack at inopportune moments. It was time to switch back to Nikon again.

With the digital age it was clear that Nikon or Canon would get my business. In most ways it was a no brainer for me, I had all these Nikkor lenses, why reinvest in a completely new system? That’s why I’m still using Nikon. Is Nikon better than Canon? My guess is that any of the modern cameras can produce great images with a good photographer operating them. All these systems can also produce terrible results with an incompetent photographer operating them. As well, I have started using many third party lenses that can be purchased for many different systems. I guess it really comes down to personal preference.

So what’s in my bag? I’ll start with the weird and accessory items:

Toshiba notebook (only if required, a few days away from computers is healthy), I’ll tell you what’s on the computer at a later date
Cable release
USB reader
2 USB cords (I either lose them or they are a little finicky)
250 gb hard drive
160 gb hard drive
Garbage bags (lots)
Band aids (these are useful for more than just patching up my body)
Lens cleaning fluid
Lens cleaning paper (in truth, I almost always use my shirt or other old clothing, underwear (clean) etc, I know….)
Permanent marker
BC Ferry schedule (may not be useful to many of you)
An old magazine or two (for the road, usually something other than photography like Air & Space or Vintage Motorsports)
Lightweight gloves
Super duper LED flashlight
Visa card, “can’t leave home without it”
A few leaky pens and,
a pair of small scissors and a knife (that I have to remember to remove before boarding an airplane).

Camera Equipment:

Nikon D300 body
Nikon D2X body
Sigma 10-20mm
Nikon 17-55mm
Sigma 30mm f1.4
Sigma 50-150mm f2.8
Sigma 150 macro
Nikon 300mm f4
Nikon 85mm f1.8 (not used often anymore)

Battery chargers for two cameras and flash unit. (why these can’t be compatible boggles my mind, in a perfect world…)
Nikon SB800 flash
Manfrotto monopod
Manfrotto Carbon Fiber tripod
Manfrotto Head

4 – 8gb Compact Flash Cards
2 – 4GB Compact Flash Cards
2 – 2 GB Compact Flash Cards

There you go, nothing fancy and all totally abused. Am I missing anything? Well, a 500mm lens sure would be nice, maybe a fisheye, donations are always accepted.

Sample footage from the canon 550d/t2i shot with the kit lens and the sigma 30mm f1.4, manual ISO and manual exposure. Tutorial videos on how to set up your own rig coming soon so subscribe!!! Like what you see! Check out more videos at Finegold2!! AND SUBSCRIBE!!!! THE FINEGOLD2! www.youtube.com JOE’S VLOG! www.youtube.com SETH’S VLOG! www.youtube.com FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!!!!! twitter.com WEBSITE! thegreatmoviecompany.com SKYPE US! greatmoviecompany DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! AND GIVE US A THUMBS UP!!!!
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by pixculture

Macro Photography – Tips and Techniques

There are a number of ways to get into macro photography ranging from inexpensive to outrageously expensive. Tough decisions to make, especially for someone that doesn’t make their living from photography.

If you decide you want to explore macro photography you have a number of options. I have listed these options starting with what I would consider to be the best equipment for the job. This doesn’t mean that buying a dedicated macro lens will always be better than extension rings but in general you will get the best results by going this way.

* dedicated macro lenses

* extension tubes or bellows units

* reversing rings

* close up lenses and

* macro zooms (that are pushing the limit of what we are talking about)

Dedicated macro lenses are the ultimate way to go if you are serious at all about doing this type of work. It doesn’t have to be expensive, I bought a wonderful 50mm Sigma Macro lens used for all of 0 (new about 0) and it is tack sharp and produces amazing images. My main macro lens is a Sigma 150mm Macro and cost a whopping 0, the best money I have ever spent. This gives you an idea about the price range available and the sky’s the limit with some highly specialized Nikon macro lenses in the ,000 range. Why the difference in focal lengths? I’ll get to that soon in another article that I’m working on! If you are serious about macro photography buying a lens specifically designed for the purpose is the best way to go. The lens designs are optimized for close focusing and the lenses are also generally flat field (focus in a flat plane) producing sharper corners on flat objects such as pieces of wood or slabs of rock. Flat field may be a term that many have not heard of and I’ll elaborate later on this as well.

Extension tubes or bellows units are pieces of equipment that put space between the camera body and the lens thus allowing the lens to focus closer. They can work well with certain lenses, for instance, if you have a 50mm prime lens this might be a good option to get into macro work at an affordable cost. Extension tubes often come in sets of three of different lengths (high quality tubes tend to be sold individually) that can be used singly or combined to get the close focusing distance required. Bellows units work on the same principle but are expandable like a “bellows” allowing a great deal of flexibility. There real downside is the expense and they are bulky and heavy as well. I expect most people use bellows units for studio work only as they aren’t terribly practical in the field. One area where extension tubes really shine is for making long focal length lenses like a 300mm focus closer, great for photographing skittish dragonflies and other critters.

Close up lenses are clear “filters” that screw onto the front of your lens allowing the lens to focus closer. Quality varies from mediocre to quite acceptable depending on the quality of the filters. This is likely the least expensive way to start shooting macro but does have its drawbacks. A big factor that has to be looked at is the quality of the camera lens you will be using. Inexpensive zoom lenses will likely produce less than stellar results while high quality prime lenses can produce excellent results but none of these will produce tack sharp results like the dedicated macro lenses. The biggest advantage? As these are just fancy filters they are very light, no extra tubes or additional lenses to carry.

You don’t hear much about reversing rings anymore and I expect that’s because most people are using zoom lenses that likely wouldn’t work very well. Reversing rings allow you to mount a lens “backwards” on the camera body. When used with high quality prime lenses the results can be stunning and if you reverse a wide angle lens often you can achieve a high magnifications on the order of 2X or more. For people interested in high magnification shooting this is often the way to go, especially if you are on a budget.

What about the macro zoom lens that you already own? Many of the new lenses that come as part of a kit are labeled as macro zooms and while they do focus a little closer than normal they are not true macro lenses. My experience has been that most of them are very suspect in terms of sharpness as these lenses are not designed for this sort of application. Of course in a pinch they will work but to get in really close to your subject one of the above options would be best.

What are you presently using? Are you pleased with the results?

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